Electrical translating device



Feb. 20, 1934. j J, A, HEANY 'Er AL.

ELECTRICAL TRANSLATINC DEVICE Filed July 21. 19:51

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Patented Feb. v20, 1934 UNITED sTA T Es PATENT 'oi-FICE ELECTRICAL TRANSLATING DEVIC John Allen Heany andA Philip M.v Haffcke, New

Haven, Conn., assignments, to Radio assignors, by direct and mesne Research Laboratories,

Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application July-21, 1931. Serial No. 552,186

1s claims. (01; 17a-471)' casings having Serial N0. 548,410 filed July 2, 1931.

The basic invention disclosed vin the above mentioned applications lies i'n the constructionA and tube or cell having a negoperation of a gaseous ative resistance characteristic, with electronic conduction induced by a difference in potential between substantially cold rather than from a space current path between electrodesr in a gas. I

The principal object of our present is to provide improvements in devices of this general type.

With this object graphically illustrated in Figure 6.

The construction and operation of the Heany- Haffcke gas cell, as disclosed in the applications above cited, may be briefly explained as follows: two electrode elementsfconstitute the working and serve to ionize or elecone of these electrode elements anode to the cathode element, main anode of the tube, so that vwe shall hereafter refer to this anode element of the cathode electrode by the designaand a control eleccathode of the cell tronize the gas, functions as an but as a cathode to the cathanode. Ananode trode are other'elements in the tube.

In a hot filament devi nlament ing the plate, wemay draw electron movement gest thatin our gas cd1 on of the maybe supported in any suitable manner. The gasintheregionofie cathodeis3, thecathanode is'4, the controlv dilerencein betwemtbecathode eleelectrode, 5. The anodeisandmaytake the malts eftectsbycollislm. form of a plate, as shown in the im-mm1" mtion of the gasbetwemthe cathode tube here illustrated. In the case of an main anode, without forming a external cathode tube, t which our invention forming a or divided path is likewlseapplicable, the anode is the center or twemtheelectrodesbyrsmof axial element, and may be rod-shaped, aswill heated cathode. The invention resides further in positive control of the in view, we have discovered that with the addition of an auxiliary electrode exceed the performance of our The .improved performance. is

if we consider elecsubstance or In one preferred follows: and an anode surrounding 1931, and cathode, cathanode,

stantially opposite, one cathode element apparent arranged exterior electrodes tainer. cells of either -the the rst application, of the second mentioned application.

The novel features, which we=believe characteristic of our invention',l

immersed invention vention itself, however, both method of operation, reference to the following y wherein: Figure 1 represents a gas cell within our invention.

the line D-D, looking in arrows. Figure 3 represents the cellsperformance in comparison with of our earlier invention, similar, or corresponding,

By the term cathanode which Vionization or emptied form of the invention disclosed in our prior application, Serial No. 542,304, above cited, the arrangement of the elements considered from the axis of the containver is as control electrode, 00 these electrode elements. In accordance with our application, SerialNo. 548,410, the arrangement may be subbeing tobe l are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. The ina's to structure and 76 will' be best understood by description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, a partly broken away View, disclosing the complete assembly of Figure 2 is a cross section into the elements of Figure 1 'on the direction of the diagrammatically the intake, output, and energizing connections of the cell. Similarly, Figures 4 and 5 show certain circuits in which cells within our invention are usable. Figure 6 comprisesgraphs showing acell vparticular' electronmavtravel from a sourceto Referringnowin a. point. Without v"to explain the 'ing receptacle orbulb isl designated 1. .'Ihis bulb teoretical side 'of involved in the a press, 2, above.which are mmmted the working of cells our invention, we sus several electrode elements of the tube, and which' more'fully'appear in connection with the de- Film 2. In addition lll to the other elements, the 05 anode being preferably the innermost electrode, taken from the longitudinal axis of the co Our present invention is applicable to internal cathode type of or to the external ca th'ode 70 like figures representing parts throughout,

as herein used is meant any electrode which functions with the an ionization or glow diselOW primary source of electrons. detail to Figure l, an enclosico to all these electrodes and electrode elements,

or higher.

tube, even dry air, as there is no heated element.

may be of helical, meshed, or other apertured construction, and is preferably positioned and arranged intermediate the control electrode 5 and the anode 6, and may be substantially concentric therewith.

As in our previous cells, neither the size of spacing of the electrodes is critical, nor are the limits of gas pressure strictly confined. We have received excellent operating results Withdiferent gases from one to millimeters of mercury Almost any gas may be used in the in the tube to cause the gas content to be absorbed or combined therewith.l By appreciable gas conten as herein used is meant: any pressure of gas substantially above that at which old type thermionic soft tubes are operable, and may be measurable in millimeters or inches of mercury.

Figure 2 is a Icross-sectional view of Figure 1 Vtaken on the line D D, and looking in the direction of the arrows. As previously mentioned, our invention, as herein described, is applicable not only to internal cathode type cells, but also to external cathode type cells. In the external type cell described in our co-pending application, Serial No. 548,410 the arrangement of electrodes may be substantially opposite to that of the internal cathode type illustrated in Figure' 1, therefore, in applying our invention to the external type, the central electrode 3 is the anode, and is preferably a. rod-shaped member, 4 the auxiliary electrode, 5 the control electrode, 6 the cathode, and 7 the cathanode. However, we shall, for the purpose of-simplication and clearness, here confine our description to the internal type of cathode tube here illustrated in cross section wherein 1 is the tube wall, 3 the cathode, `4 the cathanode, 5 the control electrode, 6 the anode, and 7 the auxiliary electrode.

'I'he auxiliary electrode '1, as shown in-circuit in Figure 3, may be similar in form and relative location to the screen grid" in so-called shield or screen grid and pentode tubes. It functions in an entirely different manner, however,

and should not beconfused therewith. In screen grid'and pentode tubes, the screen grid is con- -nected to a positive potential somewhat lower than the anode plate` potential, and its function is to screen the normal grid (or control grid, as'it is called) from the electro-static effects of the plate, and as a result lowering the plate 4impedance and also reducing the effective 4plate-to-controlgrid capacity, thereby allowing the screen grid to beused forhigh voltage amplification. In

the pentode tube, the other, or auxiliary grid,

is operated at cathode potential inforder to `neu` 'tralize the eilect of secondary emission, whereby increased power may'be takenfrom the plate circuit. In cells within our present invention' the auxiliary electrode functions as neither of the foregoing. Q

In the preferred form, as shown in Figure 3, thev auxiliary electrode 7 is connected at a suitable point to the cathanode 4, whereby it is at' the same potential Aas the cathanode.- It'ismore positive than control electrode 5, as the negative terminal of a suitable polarizing source 16 is connected through-the input 8 with the control electrode 5. The auxiliary electrode '1,` however,

is less. positive than the anode 3. As energizing sources 10 and 11 are in series, the totalvalue of the anode voltage is the sum of the voltages of the sources. 10 and l1. lI'he output coupling' issymbolically represented by coil 9. l2 is a ballast resistor which serves to limit the current through the cell.

In our earlier tubes, as described in the applications previously cited, the cathanode is cathode tothe anode, and carries some of the anode current. In the present invention, however, the auxiliary electrode becomes cathode to the main anode 6 and' carries a major proportion of the anode circuit current. There is no need for any control electrode to be interposed between the auxiliary electrode 7 and the anode 6, since the control electrode 5 functions perfectly to give control of the anode current over a wide range of grid swing. Apparently, the control electrode 5 acts to control ionization, or electronization, between the auxiliary electrode 7 and the anode 6, thereby controlling the conductivity of the path between the said auxiliary electrode 7 and the anode 6. In operation there is a distinct ionization glow between the cathode 3 and the cathanode 4, and extending toward or to the control electrode 5. There is also a pronounced glow between the anode 6 and auxiliary electrode 7. But, between control electrode 5 and the auxiliary electrode 7 there is a well defined dark space which persists through all normal operation of the cell unless the potential is raised too far above the ionization and practical working point when arcing takes place.

Cells within our invention may -be used in connection with a strictly single source of supply. In this event the cathanode connection may be'made to a mid tap of the voltage divider of an ordinary power pack, the cathode connection to Jthe negative `terminal and the anode to the positive terminal. AllA of these connections are symbolically represented by dotted lines in Figure 3.

In the internal cathode type cells described in application Serial No. 542,304, previously referred to, as well as internal cathode type cells of the present invention, as so far described, the anode-cathanode potential is quite low for most gases, and may be of the order of 15 to 20 volts, being substantially just below the ionization voltage of the gas. However, we have discovered a novel arrangement whereby very much higher plate potentials may be used and eiectively controlledin tubes or cells of this type. Thus, as in'Figure 4,: instead of connecting the auxiliary electrode tothe cathanode, as in Figure 3, itis left entirely free of any connection to the other elements, or the circuit; or, as we term it, remains oating with regard to the 'other elements. In this relation, it apparently acts as an anode to the cathanode, and as a cathode lto the anode, so that the potential across each of these 'spaces is substantially at or above ionization voltage, and the total plate potential may be, therefore, several times what it is in the earlier type cells, or in the preferred form of the present invention, ,as shown'in Figure 3. This phenomenon may be 'carried still further by interposing more than one auxiliary electrode Z'between the control electrode and anode, `with all of said auxiliary electrodes left unconnected, or floating. Each individual section then acts as a single ionization space and raises the total plate potential in proportion to the number of the auxiliary Graph C in Figure 6 shows the effect on the yanode current of leaving the auxiliary electrode graph B in the same gurb, part of it being steeper', and requiring a lower grid swing to cell may4 beput, and a use which is unknown in the thermionic art, is this: the cell is an effective voltage divider, and is usable as such, or for any other useful purpose to which it may be adapted, and instead of being connected to the cathanode, or left floating, the auxiliary electrode, or electrodes, may be brought out to independent terminals on the outside of the con'- tainer and be used as individual taps on a common source of applied voltage.

`Another possible variation shown in Figure 5 is to use the outside, or auxiliary electrode 7, as

the control electrode, in which case electrode 5 becomes the auxiliary electrode. In operation, by properly biasing electrode 5, which isotherwise floating, either positively or negatively as may be required in the particular circuit, by a source of potential 17, which is now the control electrode 7, may be made to control with zero' bias and so do away with any necessity for using an additional applied potential to the now control electrode 7.- As stated, the charge for the electrode 5 will be either positive or negative, whichever is required to maken the electrode 7 control with zero bias.

In Figure 6, .curve A was made with a 4.

element internal cathode type tube of our previous invention. Curve B was made with an internal cathode type within the present invention, with the auxiliary electrode connected as in Figure 3. Curve C was made with a cell within the present invention, with the auxiliary electrode left floating as in Figure 4. It will be apparent from an inspection of curves A, B and C that the slope of curves B and C is considerably steeper and straighter than that of curve A. Since the degree of amplification obtained is dependent upon'the slope of the characteristic curve, it is evident that curves B and C representan improvement in the degree of amplification which may be obtained with cells of our previous invention, the characteristic of which is represented by curve A. Considering the unusual steepness and straightness of the substantially assymmetric plate current curve, which in our device is positively controlled over its entire useful range, it will be readily apparent to those v.skilled in. the art to which our invention relates, that we obtain many` 1 useful characteristics with our `tube entirely unobtainable with any old type'tube, and, therefore, as a number of possible embodiments may and as changes of said set forth, without departing from the spirit and scope of the "invention, it is to'be understood that the above is interpreted as illustrative and not* in a limiting sense, except as required by the appended claims and by the piorart.

We claim: g o

1. A system for repeating electrical variations including a receptacle having a useful gas content containing at least five cold electrode members, means including a source of potential forV creating a glow discharge in said gas and means for localizing said discharge between certain of said members. I 1

2. A system for repeating electrical variations including a receptacle having a useful gas .con-

creating a glow dischargerin said gas and means potential as applied to tions comprising a tent maintained interiorly in va. condition of molecular'activity and containing .at least five cold electrode members, all of said members being arranged in successive array providing four interelectrode gas columns, a source of potential forl said device, means dividing said potential among said electrodes, the relative values of said divisions in potential being such that operation of the device is characterized by a glow discharge localized in certain of said columns. d

3.v A system in accordance with claim 2 wherein all of said members are concentrically arranged. i

4. A system for amplifying electrical variations including a device having va useful gas content containing a cathode and a cathanode for ionizing said gas, a plate, a grid, and an auxiliary electrode, an input device connected between said cathanode and grid, an output device connected across said anode and one 4of said electrodes, and circuit and potential arrangements for giving to said system a substantially linear rising Eg-Ip characteristic, and a substantially linear falling Eg-Ip characteristic over the operating range.

5. A system for repeating electrical oscillations including a device having a useful gas content, a cathode, a cathanode, a control electrode, an

' auxiliary electrode and an anode, a connection between the control electrode and cathanode including a source of oscillations to be amplified, an output circuit for amplied oscillations between said electrodes, the relative values of said divisions in potential being such that the system has a rising and falling Eg-Ip characteristic over its signal operating range.

6. A systemin accordance with claim 5 where- 1 in said Eg-#Ip characteristic is sharply peaked.

'7. A system for repeating electrical variations including a receptacle having a useful gas content, a non-thermionic cathode, a cathanode, a control electrode, 'an auxiliary .electrode and an anode, means including a source of potential for creating a glow discharge in said gas and means for localizingsaid glow discharge between the cathode and cathanode, cathanode and grid, and between the auxiliary electrode and anode.

8. A system' for repeating electrical variations including a receptacle having oa. useful gas content, a non-thermionic cathode, a cathanode, a control electrode, an auxiliary electrode and an anode, means including a source of potential for for localizing said `glow dischargebetween the cathode and cathanode and betweenthe auxiliary electrode and anode. 9. Awave repeating system including acathode, a cathanode, an anode, a control electrode between said cathanode and anode electrodes, an auxiliary electrode on the side of 'said control electrode 'nearest said anode, and means for applying to said auxiliary electrode the same said cathanode.

10. A wave repeating system including a cathode, a cathanode, an'anode, a control electrode between said-cathanode and anode electrodes, an auxiliary electrode on the side of said control electrode nearest said anode, and a direct connection between said auxiliary electrode and said cathanode.

11. A system for amplifyingelectrical' oscilladevicel having a useful Sas 15G content, a cold cathode "and cathanode, an anode, a control electrode, an auxiliary electrode, means for applying a direct current potential to said cold cathode and cathanode suiiicient to create a glow discharge therebetween, means for maintaining Said control electrode at a potential relatively negative with respect to said cathanode, an input circuit including the control electrode and the cathanode, and an output circuit including the anode and the auxiliary electrode, said auxiliary eleclrode being located between the control electrode and the anode.

12. Apparatus in. accordance with claim 11 wherein the auxiliary electrode is electrically connected to the cathanode.

13. An electrical translating system including a receptacle having a useful gas content, a nonthermionic cahode, a cathanode, a source of potential and means including said cathode and cathanode for rendering said gas electrically conductive, an anode, a grid, an input circuit includ- 1 ing the grid and the cathanode, an output circuit including the anode and the grid and a floating electrode inlermediate thegrid and the anode.

at a potential negative with respect to said ca'hanode, circuit means for impressing a potential to be controlled on the said anode and said grid, second circuit means having a section in common with said first circuit, means for impressing a controlling potential between said grid and cathanode, said auxiliary electrode remaining oating with respect to said other electrodes.

15. An electrical translating system including a. device having a useful gas content, a. nonthermionic cathode, a cathanode, a grid, an anode; means for impressing operating potentials on cathode, cathanode, grid and anode, an input circuit including the grid and cathanode, an output circuit including thet anode and the grid and an auxiliary electrode intermediate the cathanode and the anode.

16. A system in accordance with claim 15 in which the instantaneous potential of said auxiliary electrode is determined solely by its potential position relative to said other electrodes in said ionized medium.

17. A system in accordance with claim 15 in which the auxiliary electrode is intermediate the cathanode and the grid.

18. A system for amplifying electrical oscillations comprising a device having a useful gas content, a cold cathode and cathanode, an anode,

a control electrode, an auxiliary electrode, means for applying a direct current potential to said cold cathode and cathanode suicient to create a glow discharge therebetween, means for impressing a controlling potential for said discharge upon said auxiliary electrode, an input circuit including ythe grid and cathanode, an output circuit including the anode and the grid, said auxiliary electrode being located between the cathanode and the grid.

JOHN ALLEN HEANY.

PHILIP M. HAFFCKE. 

